PC Gaming

If you're starting to get bored of Portal 2, just wait until May 8, when the ambitious new piece of downloadable content, called Perpetual Testing Initiative, is released. The DLC will give players one of the most appealing additions to the Portal franchise to date - the ability to create custom levels. That's right; you can finally make your own Portal masterpieces.

The Alienware M11x will soon reach end of life, and although it was an interesting idea to try and pack as much power into a small footprint as possible, ultimately it didn’t gain much traction. That doesn’t seem to prevent others from walking down a similar path. Engadget has the details of the Maingear Pulse 11, an 11.6-inch gaming laptop that seeks to continue the small yet powerful legacy.

If you can't wait to get your hands on Intel's 3rd-generation Core processors for some gaming action, you'll definitely want to check out the MSI GT70. The 17-inch laptop is shipping now from online retailers like ExcaliburPC, complete with Core i7 Ivy Bridge processors and an NVIDIA GTX670M GPU. Pre-configured models start in the $1,500 range and go as high as $2,500 for the more well-equipped versions, depending upon the hardware included. Stock is already running low, so if you want one, get an order in fast!

A slew of new Ivy Bridge processors isn't the only thing Intel is announcing today. Slipped into the announcement of its third-generation Core architecture was the mention of the HD 4000 series of integrated graphics cards, which will replace the standard graphics currently on a huge assortment of laptops and desktops. According to Intel, the new integrated graphics chips will deliver up to double performance from the 3000 series, an impressive claim and a necessary advancement as Ultrabooks (most of which use Intel's HD graphics) become a more popular PC segment.

EA and Maxis confirmed last month that they would be bringing SimCity 5 to eager gamers sometime in 2013, bringing with it revamped graphics and new social networking features. The Game Jar had a hands-on preview with the game, and described in detail the mechanics of the refreshed franchise as well as typical gameplay.

The latest patch has gone live for Bethesda's hot-selling role-playing game The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, but as to be expected, it is only available for PC players. For those playing on the Xbox 360 and PS3, the game remains at version 1.4. PS3 players in particular still have reason to be sore because that version still has some memory bugs. The PS3 version of the game game under increasing scrutiny.

What's better than a top-of-the-line graphic card for a rabid PC gamer? Try four strapped int to the same motherboard and running in tandem. This sort of thing's been possible for quite a while (for those with the cash for compatible hardware and power bills) but it's always fun to see the latest and greatest pushed to the maximum levels of performance. So it is with NVIDIA's brand new GeForce GTX 680, the company's latest in ultra-powered GPU excess. Hardware.Info strapped four GTX 680s into a quad-SLI motherboard and let the benchmarks fly.

Valve has decided to axe the ability for PC and PS3 players to compete head-to-head in the upcoming game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, just weeks after it said the feature would be one of the defining parts of the game. The problem, according to the company, is that allowing cross-platform play would mean the PC version wouldn't be able to get continuous patches and updates.

Gaming mice range from the simple to the ridiculous, though they tend to unite on at least one aspect: "expensive". In the world of gaming hardware, novelty is a constant struggle, and boutique manufacturer SteelSeries has something up their sleeves that certainly qualifies. The company posted two photos to their Twitter account today, showing off what appears to be the tail end of a gaming mouse with an integrated screen of some kind. Thousands of PC gamers' wallets are already feeling lighter.

Desktop gaming computers are getting more over-the-top every year, and with triple and quadruple SLI and Crossfire X motherboards now on the market, those who need the absolute maximum in performance also need a ton of power with which to achieve it. Enter OCZ's latest power supply, the 1000W Fatal1ty PSU. It's not the first kilowatt power supply around, but it is the first to feature the branding of pro gamer Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel - an instant way to make PC gamers sit up and take notice.